How does my Pond Fish anatomy work?

Hey guess what? Koi and pond fish have a simple heart with only two chambers! Who the heck cares and when will that be relevant to anything you might see or do with pond fish? Probably never, so the purpose of this article is to make you aware of anatomy that does actually matter.

The FinsA pond fish like a koi or goldfish is pretty typical in its finnage –they have the usual dorsal (top) fin, an assortment of bottom fins, and then the caudal (tail) fin, as well as a few others.

The dorsal fin in koi is extremely vulnerable to ulceration and it's not uncommon for the mildest of bacterial infections to erode a hole right in the middle of it. Once the ulcer has healed, the fin can remain incomplete. When purchasing a new fish, inspect the dorsal fin to make sure it’s whole. The paired pelvic fins emerge cranially (head end) to the anus, and they're the fins that define the landmarks for injection because it is the safest site with good absorption.

The ScalesThe scales cover the body and are of variable size, depending on the location, and they overlap at five points. People tend to think the scales overlap on the obvious four sides but the center of the scale is underlapped by the scale behind and in front of it.

When a fish gets a deep wound, they may dislodge, or even shed, scales. The dead tissue and loose scales that surround a wound can provide bad bacteria with fuel to continue to infect the fish. To avoid this, gently scrub the wound with a piece of gauze soaked in grocery store hydrogen peroxide. The term for this process is debridement. It's not meant for all wounds, and should not be overdone. Over-cleaning a wound removes cells that are trying to heal the wound, so usually one debridement is needed.

Fish do a good job of replacing lost scales over the course of several weeks after their loss. However the replacement-scale is of a finer (thinner) quality and sometimes unevenly marked compared to the original scales.

The Gills and OperculumThe gills are to a fish what your lungs are to you – a delicate organ system that exposes all of your blood to oxygen. The gills are exactly the same structure only they're pushing the blood through capillaries that exchange with water, not air.

What most people don’t know is that the gills perform another important function – the excretion of fish waste in the form of ammonia. The gills are the most important waste excretion organ in the fish’s body. You can see that damage to the gills by way of infection with bacteria, destruction via viruses such as Koi Herpes Virus, infestation with parasites, or just damage from medications or poor water quality, can impact the fish far more than just breathing.

The operculum is the thick boney covering on either side of the head, and protects the gill arches. You may need to lift the operculum to examine the gills, but don't lift it too far or it might tear. The gills of any sick or dead fish can be photographed to provide important forensic information after a fish disease outbreak.

The EyesKoi and goldfish don't need eyes to live. In fact, there's a genetic mutation that causes one out of ten thousand fish to hatch out without any at all. If a fish loses one or both of its eyes through trauma, there is no need to euthanize it because it can find and apprehend food perfectly well with their barbels, lips, and mouths, which are absolutely loaded with sensory structures (taste buds, no kidding).

There's a fat, cushiony blood supply to and from the eye, called the choroid plexus, designed to protect they eye from any trauma. Sometimes the choroid swells due to a blow to the eye. This is temporary and the eye may sink back into the socket over the coming week. A popped eye for an indefinite period of time could be the sign of another problem that may require the help of a fish professional.

An Overview of the GutsKoi and goldfish have a very simple digestive tract. They have an esophagus that comes from the mouth and goes to the stomach … wait, check that … koi and goldfish don't have a stomach in any true sense. A stomach means a valve at the top and bottom of an acid-secreting, digestive organ, but koi and goldfish just have a stretchy wide spot in the top of the intestine for food storage while they pass it into the intestine.

Koi tummies hate to be full in cold water. When this occurs, the lining of the intestine is damaged and bad bacteria can get through the damaged lining into the blood stream. Of course, the fish show no obvious sign of this, but may die later in the Spring when the water warms and the bacteria go to work on the poor fish. This is one reason we recommend that you not feed fish in wintertime, when cold snaps are possible or when the water temperature will be below 55° F.

The Air BladderThe air bladder is an amazingly delicate structure. It fills with air via a thin veil of capillaries extending over its surface, and air is released by way of a thin tube that comes from the caudal sac. The air is burped into the esophagus, which then escapes through the mouth. The air bladder is balanced to the weight of the fish against the water, which is the primary means by which the fish can hang in the water without paddling the whole time.

If a fish is floating upside down on the surface, something has happened to the air bladder's ability to let air out, so it is then too large and too buoyant for the weight of the fish. A problem with the air bladder can also cause the fish to sink to the pond bottom. This usually occurs when the spinal cord is damaged near the point where the nerves that regulate the air bladder emerge. Examples include electrocution through a stray voltage released into the water.

Sometimes the air bladder can be removed or surgically corrected, enabling the fish to swim normally.

The SkeletonFish are boney, and ornamental pond fish are no exception. They're full of bones and, unlike the bones of sharks and stingrays, their bones really are bones – not cartilage. The bones of a fish are not meant for bearing weight because, in water, the fish is pretty much weightless. The two principal stresses on the fishes' bones are hydrostatic pressure from the water, and the push and pull of the fishes' mighty muscles on those bones. That's it.

That’s why, when you net a fish and carry it in that net, you're putting a unique force on their skeleton which can damage them. The fish is bent into a u-shape and its full weight torques the skeletal bones. Broken backs are a common result. Instead, use your net to catch the fish and then slide a big plastic bowl under the fish to carry it in.

If a fish has a broken back, the cure is simply time. The fish may compensate the injury – even if crooked from that day on – or it may simply starve to death.

The MusclesYour muscles and fish muscles are really different. If you've ever seen a fish filet you remember that there are red and white lines in the meat. The muscles of a fish are oriented in thick bands called somites. These bands are stacked all down the sides of the fish in thick, orderly rows. Let’s go back to carrying fish in nets to find out why this matters. When the process causes damage to the back, it also destroys at least some of the nerves to at least one of the bands of muscle.

Whenever a somite dies, the muscle gets smaller and a kink in the fish will be seen. The concave side of the bend is the side with the dead somite. If you don't carry fish around in nets, this is unlikely to ever have been seen in your collection.

Koi TeethIn the back of the koi throat, emerging from the lower gill arch in the back, there are three to four molars. These molars have serrations on the top like our molars. They're broad, crowned teeth and they're used to destroy shells and pulverize insects and crustaceans scavenged from the pond bottom. These teeth are shed and replaced continually through the life of the koi. They are too far back for you to ever be bitten by a koi.

So there you have it. The basics of fish anatomy as it relates to the fish living in your pond. Not meant to cure any issue or ailment, but simply to better understand the inner workings of your finned friends.